


Swimmin' with the Fishes (Eridan <> Karkat, One shot)

by Aquarius-Chronicles (Peep404)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Adventure, Blood, Friendship, M/M, Mild Gore, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Red romance if you squint reaaaaally hard, Swearing, Troll terminology, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26998822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peep404/pseuds/Aquarius-Chronicles
Summary: Eridan and Karkat go on an underwater adventure together.Rated Teen and Up just in case because of mild gore and cursing.Told from Karkat's point of view.
Relationships: Eridan Ampora/Karkat Vantas
Kudos: 19





	Swimmin' with the Fishes (Eridan <> Karkat, One shot)

It was mesmerising to watch him.

In the water, Eridan looked less like a troll and more like an adept predator. His movements were precise and calculated, and his body effortlessly blended in with the ocean bed. It seemed like what agility he showed on land was only a fraction of what he could do underwater. He dipped lower under the corals and sat down by crossing one strutpod over the other and leaning the other on the bottom. He closely examined a piece of coral before letting go and swimming back up. He nodded to you and you headed off into bigger depths together.

You have come along with Eridan on his routine check of the ocean. You never asked what he had to do directly, but you got the idea by observing him: he was making sure that the ecosystems are not disrupted, and that the fish and the corals and what have you are present and healthy. You liked to watch him work, observe his careful movement and the concentration with which he combed the surroundings. It never occurred to you that he knew so much about the ocean and its inhabitants, but thinking back on it now, it makes perfect sense. It’s his element, after all.

Even though he would swim a bit ahead, he would still turn around to check on you every once in a while. You’re thankful for this; you’re still not fully used to your gills, and since you have no fins and rarely swim, you are far less dexterous. Still, you try your best to keep pace with him.

The water grows darker and strange and long purple seaweed reaches out to caress your calves and shoulders, so you swim closer to Eridan. Schools of fish pass you by, white and identical, and the moment you turn to examine them, they dart off. "Ghost fish" - explained Eridan later - "they won't harm you if you don't follow them." That alone sounded like daymare fuel, so you didn’t question him further.

Eridan motions lower and stretches out his frond to you. The moment you take it, he pulls you down with massive force, pulling you both against the current and onto the sandy bottom. You slowly start getting used to your gills and breathing underwater, even if the bubbles tickle you.

You swim up and into the brighter waters again. As Eridan distances himself to check another reef out, you start observing the flora and fauna around you. You swim a bit further away to check out a vivid red coral that houses many tiny snails. On further inspection, you realise that there are crabs, too, and your pusher skips a beat. _They’re adorable!_ You wonder if they think you’re adorable too, or just some gigantic fucking weirdo that wants to eat them.  
Below the coral, nestled next to an anemone, you spot something iridescent. You nudge it with your strutpod and it detaches from the sand with ease, floating. It turns out to be a seashell - vacant, by the looks of it.

When you turn around to ask Eridan if you’re allowed to keep something like this or it will disturb the ecosystem, you're met with a pair of violet ganderbulbs. They're not Eridan's.  
You flinch back, dropping the seashell. It floats down in slow motion, and you float back. _Fuck, I wish I was given other seadweller parts, like very sharp teeth and other defence mechanisms that would keep me from turning into chum right now!_

The seadweller girl bares her teeth at you and lunges forward, pressing you against the reef. A crowd of bubbles escapes your mouth as your back scratches against the rough coral. She is scary, but she seems to be observing you and your slowly oozing red blood with curiosity. _Not many freaks of nature like me around, it seems._ You try baring your teeth back at her, but you feel silly. Judging by her irises and pale skin, she is younger than you, yet twice bigger. She will probably also gut you with ease when she's done sightseeing. You reach back with your frond to break off a piece of coral, but she snatches your wrist and pins you down harder to look at your freaky red gills. _Fuck, she's strong!_ She grabs your face harshly and turns it around, presumably to look at your very normal, finless ears. One of her claws cuts into your cheek. You scream and kick her, aiming at the gills. It would have worked better on land, but it does the trick because a moment is all it takes for you to break free. 

Only when you feel her grip slack do you realise that you didn't think this through. She is pissed as fuck now, and if her slit irises and luminescent fins and stripes are anything to go by, you are so very screwed.  
She jumps back at you, but this time she pins you on the ocean floor. You struggle for a moment, facing your imminent culling when she moves back and lets you go. _What the fuck is going on?_

You look behind her and see Eridan, and it takes you a moment to notice that his claws are wedged deeply into her belly. She turns around to try and defend herself, but it's too late. Eridan sinks his teeth into her neck and dislodges his claws with a sense of finality. She tears away from his grip and swims away into the darkness in a cloud of violet blood, and he grabs you around your waist and pulls you into the opposite direction. You emerge in an underwater cave whose top half is filled with oxygen. Feeling strangely numb, you let Eridan carry you out of the water. He gently places you down and you gratefully breathe in the briny air.

You think your hear ducts might be full of water because you hear nothing but silence. You turn around and look at Eridan. He is not talking, but he is examining your wounds. He touches one of the cuts on your back and you flinch.  
"Hey, watch it!" - you growl. Eridan quickly pulls his frond back.  
"What the fuck happened, Kar? I was away for two minutes for cryin' out loud!”  
"I almost ended up as an exclusive fish dinner, seared mutant à la Karkat, that's what!" - you say, sitting up. "I thought you said there were no fucking seadwellers here!"  
"There aren't supposed to be any!" - he exclaims, throwing his fronds up in the air. "I haven't seen another violetblood in my territory in wipes for fucks sake!"  
"Figures, that's just my luck."  
You stare at each other in silence. Eridan shuffles awkwardly.

"Are you hurt?"  
"I'm fine." You feel the cut on your back and flinch when seawater touches it.  
"What were you doin', anyway? Why did you swim further away?" You can see the concern in his bulbs. You sit closer to him.  
"I saw a seashell and wanted to ask you about it when she showed up."  
"Did you see anythin’ specific?"  
You hum. "It was spiral and iridescent on the inside. I didn't really get the chance to take a good look at it."  
"I meant the seadweller, you dumbass. Have you seen anything..." - he waves his fronds in the air - "Distinguishing?" _Oof._ You rack your sponge for a moment. He puts his arm around you.  
"She had glowing stripes on the side of her body. Whiteish or so."  
Eridan clicks his tongue. "That's not good. I need to check that out."

Before you get to ask him why, he takes his arm off of you, slips into the water, and dives away, leaving you alone. _Well if that isn't fucking perfect!_ You anxiously stare at the water, wondering if he wanted you to follow. Just when you make up your mind to stay put and face your doom in the underwater hellscape, you see a familiar dark shape approaching in the water. Eridan swims out, slicks his hair back, and walks out of the water. He walks past you, casually dropping a seashell in your lap. You pick it up, feeling your face heat up. _Fucker._  
"Let me know when you leave me for dead next time" - you mumble, turning the seashell this way and that. It's even prettier out of water.  
Eridan scoffs. "As if. That was enough danger for you for one night. Let's head back." You feel his frond on the back of your knees and let out an indignant sound as he picks you up.  
"I can swim, you idiot!" - you shout at him and flail as he starts entering the water. It touches your ass. _Fuck, it's cold now!_  
"Please, Kar, it's the least I can do" - he pleads, kissing your forehead. 

You don't complain anymore as he takes you both back to the surface.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've been reading my other erikar fanfic, [You Can Count On Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24170605/chapters/58211167), then you know that I took a short hiatus when I went to a vacation. This is the fanfic that I outlined while I was away! I decided that it's a shame to scrap it, so here it is ^^


End file.
